Charlie Fraser started Whitestone City Music in 2012 for 45 South TV because it needed a sound channel to complete its licence requirements.
After giving up control a decade ago, Mr Fraser and his wife, Eunice, are back running the station.
"It was either us take over or it would just be shut down and put on the shelf."
His passion for radio came from his career as an electrical engineer at the Waitaki Electric Power Board, the predecessor to Network Waitaki.
"Electricity and electricals and radio and things have always been my hobby."
While he and his wife no longer live in Oamaru, they still run the Oamaru Heritage Radio station.
The couple now reside in Kapuka, about 20km west of Invercargill.
When their daughter, Maree, and her husband bought the Lignite Pit Cafe and Secret Garden in 2014, the Frasers handed the reins to Whitestone City Music and shifted with them.
They kept going with heritage radio and even picked up another station, Lignite FM.
Both broadcast from their cottage, with Mrs Fraser on air five days a week.
The stations are not-for-profit, solely funded by donations.
The couple work with other stations around the South Island to keep their 24-hour broadcast going.
Mr Fraser is off air while he sets up the station but hopes to be back "just after Easter".
